W league season opens for women's soccer teams in L.A., Santa Clarita

The Santa Clarita Blue Heat, a semi-professional women's soccer team based in Santa Clarita, opens its 12-game W league schedule Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at The Master's College in Santa Clarita.

The 20-year-old W league is a second-division developmental league in which professionals play alongside college players. The Blue Heat finished sixth in the seven-team Western Conference last season.

The league also includes the L.A. Blues, who opened their season last Friday with a 9-0 win over Sedona FC. The Blues split their home games between the StubHub Center in Carson and Occidental College, where they're to meet Sedona again on Friday in their home opener.

The Blue Heat roster includes French international Delphine Chatelin; former UCLA defender Ariana Martinez, who represented Mexico in the U-20 World Cup; English players Hollie Wride and Lauren Cheshire; Melanie Fox and Kaci McCain of Long Beach State; and Natasa Radosavljevic, daughter of former national team player and Chivas USA coach Preki.

The Blues, who won the W league title last season before merging with the L.A. Strikers, have two veterans of Australia's professional league in Shawna Gordon and Sasha Andrews, a Canadian international.